Chapter Text
A deep rumble shook the entire building, down to the subterranean cell where Slaine was sleeping in his cot. His eyes opened and he sat up, his vision slowly adjusting to the darkness. It sounded like a kat firing, but he knew that they would never keep prisoners and operational kataphrakts in the same vicinity. He laid back down and closed his eyes.
BOOM!
What in -? This time he hauled himself out of bed and stumbled to the narrow cell window to look for the source. He couldn't see much, even if there had been something there. The window was above his head and at ground level, affording a lovely view of the sky but not of anything on the land, and there was no moon tonight. No stars either. Just pitch black, and deathly calm. He had nearly turned away when, straight down from the sky, flashed a jagged beam of light, accompanied by an earsplitting crack. It illuminated every cloud and tree before vanishing nearly as soon as it had materialized. Ah, so it was lighting. Earth's weather was no joke.
"You should close your window, it's going to rain soon," a calm, familiar voice said behind him. Kaizuka Inaho stood in the doorway, arms loosely at his sides, his single eye gazing evenly at the prisoner. He must have opened the door when that last thunderclap rolled in. So much for privacy.
Slaine ignored the intruder and went back to his bed. Somehow the 19-year-old officer had gained enough clearance over the past several months to waltz in whenever he pleased, much to Slaine's annoyance. But only with guard supervision, of course. As if Kaizuka needed help if it came to a fight. Slaine was sure it wouldn't be too hard for a child to defend themselves against him in his current state of health, but everything in this place was obnoxiously rigid when it came to procedure.
A few minutes passed, and he realized Kaizuka had no intention of leaving. He rolled over and heaved a sigh. "What are you doing here? It's late, I was sleeping." He slept a lot these days. There wasn't much else to do, and being unconscious was much more pleasant than being aware of his circumstances. That is, when he wasn’t dreaming of them.
"I'm glad you're awake, actually. I need to talk to you about something that came up just now, concerning your sentence."
At this time of night…? It was absurd, but then Kaizuka generally appeared to have no concept of normal conventions. Slaine pulled the blanket over his head. Something about his sentence… maybe they’d finally seen reason and made the decision to terminate him.
Meeting silence, Kaizuka continued, "You've been granted permission for a trial house-arrest, due to your consistent cooperation and good behavior over the past eighteen months."
Slaine folded the blanket back a fraction and peered out, but gave no reply. He was trying to process what he’d just heard.
"You have nothing to say about it?" Kaizuka was still watching him.
He lay still, considering his answer. There really only was one answer to that. "It makes no difference. I have no house to go to."
"About that…" Kaizuka closed the window as the wind began to pick up outside, "It's small, but I have a spare room at my place, if you're interested."
"I'm not going to live with you," Slaine muttered, his face still obscured.
Rain began to hit the windowpane and another loud clap of thunder rattled the building.
"Well, that's up to you," Kaizuka walked towards the door, "but I'll be here at dawn to get you. Give it some thought."
Despite his disinterest the night before, Slaine was awake and had his few belongings gathered by the time Kaizuka arrived the next morning.
"Is your sister alright with this?" he inquired dubiously as he climbed into the vehicle, "I thought she hated me."
"Yuki doesn't know yet. But she'll get used to it."
A rather daring assumption, Slaine thought to himself. Well, whatever. It's not like being hated was anything new. He didn't particularly care what other people thought of him, he had never had that luxury.
The thunderstorm that raged for most of the night had cleared away, leaving a fresh, pink dawn. A soft sea breeze rustled their clothes and hair pleasantly.
"Roll up your pants," Kaizuka instructed before closing the door, "It doesn't matter which leg."
"Huh?" What kind of request was that?
"I need to put this on you before we leave." Kaizuka held up a tracking anklet. "It's part of the condition for your trial release. Your radius is my property, though you're not really supposed to be alive, so try to lay low."
"Then why am I alive..." Slaine sighed inwardly and rolled up the hem around his left ankle. He may have been cooperative over the past year and a half, but his distaste for Kaizuka in particular had remained much the same. Something about the boy brought out the worst in him.
When the anklet was fastened in place, Kaizuka stood up and reached in his pocket.
"I doubt you'll try to run, but if you do – " he held up his cell phone, "I'll know exactly where you are. There's also an emergency button – if you're ever in serious danger, press it. I can usually be home within five minutes."
What kind of danger, exactly...?
As he rolled his pant leg back down, Kaizuka climbed in the driver's side and started the engine. The ride home was completely silent. Neither had anything to say, and Slaine was occupied with trying not to seem too fascinated by the scenery passing them by. Birds circled in the cloud streaked sky above a calm, glistening ocean. It hurt just looking at them.
About an hour later, they pulled into the driveway of a small house. Slaine wondered if it was really big enough for three people. It was bigger than a jail cell, at least. He glanced around somewhat uneasily as Kaizuka methodically flipped through his keys and unlocked the front door. The smell of some sort of food wafted out and for the first time in weeks Slaine suddenly felt hungry. He ignored the feeling and followed his new housemate inside.
"Ah… I forgot to mention," said Kaizuka, "we've been using that room as storage until now, and I haven't had time to clean it out. For now you'll have to use my room or the couch. Whichever," he added indifferently while hanging his keys on a hook by the door.
“Mention that earlier!” Slaine glared at the back of the other’s head, and then added aloud, "I'll take the couch." He scanned the room with his eyes. It had been a very long time since he last set foot in a Terran home, and the ones he remembered were much different than this. This home was comfortable looking, both worn and clean. Its walls were sparse, its furniture full, and it was inviting.
"Hey, take off your shoes!"
Slaine halted in his tracks and glanced back. He had never heard Kaizuka use that tone before. Was that annoyance just now? Interesting. "Sorry," He took a pair of offered slippers.
"If you make a mess here I'm sending you back. I don't have time to clean up after you."
Well… he was setting things straight at the beginning, apparently. In any case, that should be easy enough. He could be orderly if required to be.
"Breakfast is at seven, dinner is at six. I'll leave your lunch in the fridge." Kaizuka crossed the kitchen and began ascending the stairs. Slaine followed him, looking side to side to take in everything as he passed through. When they reached the second floor, Kaizuka paused in front of a door and knocked twice. "Yuki, you're late."
"Huh?! AHH!!" a panicked cry came from within.
Continuing on, Kaizuka opened the door at the end of the hall. "This will be your room. I'll clean it out this weekend, so for now you can sleep wherever you want. My room is here –" he opened the door across from his sister's, "you can put your stuff down there."
"Nao, is someone here?"
Before Slaine could process the situation, he found himself being shoved into a room with the door closed in his face.
"No, I was just on the phone," he heard Kaizuka lie on the other side. Apparently he was waiting for a better time to break the news.
"Oh. Did you leave me any breakfast?"
"It's on the stove. You're really late, you know."
Slaine looked around the bedroom. It was spotless, of course. A picture of the siblings was on a wooden bedside table. It was the only photo in the room. They looked happy.
Aside from a bed, a dresser, and a desk, there was not much else in the room. Even so, it felt comfortable. The sunlight on blue walls gave it a fresh atmosphere.
Just as he was setting his things down in a corner, the door opened again. Kaizuka entered and closed it behind him. "Sorry about that. She'd be in a bad mood all day if I told her about you right now. Anyway, I have to go. Settle in and make yourself comfortable – there's a bath down the hall and food in the kitchen. I'll be home at 5:30. Oh, and this should be obvious, but I’ll say it anyway: stay out of my sister's room, and don’t answer the door or the telephone."
The door shut again and Slaine collapsed onto the bed. This whole idea was ridiculous, but for some reason he couldn't reject it. Well, he could always change his mind later. Either way, he had nothing more to lose.